Degrassi: In Too Deep
by OnceUponAFan
Summary: An alternative take on Eli from Season 11. Please read and review.


When Eli woke up he didn't bother to change out of his clothes. He went downstairs. At the table Cece had already gotten a plate of eggs out for him. "Eli I want you to try and have a good day at school." She softly touched his shoulder. Eli instantly wanted to move her hand

away. His parents didn't trust him anymore. They now only worried and pitied him. "Okay mom I'll stay out of trouble." Eli didn't even think about calling Cece by her first name. He knew that he would have to earn that.

Before Eli knew it he had arrived at school. Walking with his cane caused him to favor his right side and his left leg was awkwardly completely straight. Adam walked up to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked with clear concern.

"Yes, I'm fine!" Eli shouted.

Adam took a step back. Eli looked at the floor. "Look," he said as he looked at the floor while he kept walking. "I know that I made a mistake. I lost control. But you have been desperate before haven't you?" Adam's eyes narrowed a bit. "You know that I have Eli. One of the reasons why we are friends is because you know how desperate I used to be to fit in." Eli smiled a bit despite himself. "Now you are just stuck with me." Adam said something but the bell rung and drowned his words out. He thought it wasn't worth repeating because Adam jetted off to class.

Eli was a complete zombie throughout Math and Science. His teacher in Science Mr. Jones was going over the importance of the periodic table but Eli didn't think his class would be interested if he told them that he was secretly an alien from Pluto sent to observe Earth. Eli remembered while he was staring at the clock that he started to sweat. His throat seemed to tense up despite the fact that he had managed to drink some water before his previous class. Eli imagined that he was sweating. His face got buried a little more in his textbook. I need another pill Eli thought as he hugged his pant leg for a minute. Eli couldn't wait for Science to end.

The second class ended Eli popped a pill. For a minute Eli felt his mind go blank. He wasn't thinking about Clare, his grades, or his parents Eli felt like he was floating on a cloud. The sensation only lasted a few minutes but in his mind he thought he could stretch it out to last a lifetime.

Degrassi could actually be a big place when you wanted it to be. He hadn't seen Clare all day but ducking behind lockers and hiding in the bathroom helped a bit. I really shouldn't jinx myself he thought as Clare walked across the cafeteria to him. Eli grabbed a pill. He knew that this was already the third one today but he was going to need all the help he could get with the conversation he was about to have. Clare seemed more beautiful now then she had when he last saw her. Like the weight of their relationship was the only cause of stress in her life.

"So Eli," she stated nervously as she awkwardly moved her hand.

"What do you want Clare."

"I was just thinking-"

"Don't say it." Eli thought his voice cracked. He bit down on his lip. "Don't say that you want to be friends. I know that would be good for your image though. Clare the good willed Christian helping out her poor boyfriend,"

Clare paused for a minute. Eli saw that she was poorly resisting giving him a dirty look. "Eli I care about you." Her voice was no longer filled with passion. Only empty pity wrung from it.

"Just go away Clare. I never cared about you." Eli could tell that his pills were the only thing giving his voice conviction. "I used you. I used you to convince myself that I was over Julia. That was wrong of me." He used his cane and walked away from her.

He was sure that Ali would do what all good friends did. Convince Clare that he was some immoral psycho that should go to hell. Eli wasn't so sure that was far from the truth. He remembered how intense his rivalry with Fitz got. Sometimes he still had his hands clenched in rage at how powerless he tried to make him feel. Eli knew that he could handle if Clare hated him as long as he took his pills. They made him feel invincible.

After lunch Eli went to drama class. The theater which used to be his favorite class seemed smaller without Clare. "Alright we are going to do a play this semester." Mrs. Dawes said.

She wrote several names on the board. Acting like a puppet on strings Eli clumsily waved his hand up.

"I think Degrassi should do an original play," the teacher looked up surprised that he said anything.

"Well Mr. Goldsworthy I'm glad to see your injuries haven't dampened your spirits. Why do you want to do an original play over _Romeo and Juliet_ or _Death of a Salesman_?"

Eli already knew the answer. "A new play would be great because while great they have all been done millions of times in other schools. Degrassi can get some actual notice by an original work."  
"What do the rest of you think?" Mrs. Dawes said clearly interested in the idea.

A few students didn't say anything probably because they were still wearing off the effects of weed they smoked but most nodded their heads. One girl that had strange cat ears got up and clapped the same way people did when their team got a goal in a Football game. Eli turned around and looked at the girl's eyes. They were a very nice almost soft chocolate. Eli gave a small smirk and knew that he was going to have something to prevent him from thinking about Clare.


End file.
